gung ho | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

19 entries found.

also gung-ho, gungho, 1942, slang motto of Carlson's Raiders (2nd Marine Raider Battalion, under Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, 1896-1947), U.S. guerrilla unit operating in the Pacific in World War II, from Chinese kung ho "work together, cooperate." Widely adopted in American English 1959.

Borrowing an idea from China, Carlson frequently has what he calls 'kung-hou' meetings .... Problems are threshed out and orders explained. [New York Times Magazine, Nov. 8, 1942]

ho (n.)

by 1993, American English slang, representing an African-American vernacular pronunciation of whore.

ho (interj.)

exclamation of surprise, etc., c. 1300; as an exclamation calling attention or demanding silence, late 14c. Used after the name of a place to which attention is called (as in Westward-Ho) it dates from 1590s, originally a cry of boatmen, etc., announcing departures for a particular destination. Ho-ho-ho expressing laughter is recorded from mid-12c.

ho-de-ho (interj.)

1932, defined in the "Oxford English Dictionary" as "An exclamation, used as the appropriate response to HI-DE-HI."

heigh-ho (interj.)

c. 1400 as part of the refrain of a song; by 1550s as an exclamation to express yawning, sighing, etc.; see hey.

ho-hum

expression of boredom, by 1906. As an adjective, by 1956.

tally-ho

also tallyho, huntsman's cry to alert others that the game has been spotted, 1772, earlier in the name of a roistering character in English theater, Sir Toby Tallyho (Foote, 1756), from French taiaut, cry used in deer hunting (1660s), from Old French taho, tielau. Meaning "fast coach" is from 1823, originally in reference to the one that made the run from London to Birmingham.

oho (interj.)

exclamation expressing surprise, c. 1400, from o (see oh) + ho (interj.).

ahoy (interj.)

also a hoy, 1751, from a (probably merely a preliminary sound) + hoy, a nautical call used in hauling. The original form of the greeting seems to have been ho, the ship ahoy!

whoa (interj.)

1620s, a cry to call attention from a distance, a variant of who. As a command to stop a horse, it is attested from 1843, a variant of ho. As an expression of delight or surprise (1980s) it has gradually superseded wow, which was very popular in the 1960s.

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